Automatic block-signal for railways



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1.

S. J. STUCKEY. y vAUTomL'lIG BLOCK SIGNAL POR RAILWAYS.

IIa/184,062. Patented 00h11, 1892.

www w (No Model.) l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.V

S. J; STCKKEY. AUTOMATIC BLOCK SIGNAL FOR RAILWAYS. No. 484,062. Patented Oct. 11, 1892.

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SYDNEY J. STUCKEY, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC BLOCK-SIGNALFOR RAILWAYS.l

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 484,062, dated October 11, 1892.

Application filed March 14, 1892.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, 'SYDNEY J. STUCKEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Block-Sigremove the safety-signal and set a dangersignal, it being essential in mechanism of this class that it be simple, strong, and durable and practicallyimpossible to get out of repair.

With these ends in view I have devised the simple and novel automatic signal which I will now describe, referring by numbers to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation showing the signalbox and lantern as mounted on a pole and as operated from the top of a cab of a locomotive; Fig. 2, a transverse sectional View, the signal-box being placed on the ground and the signal being operated by means of thelocomotive-wheels; Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view corresponding with Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional View, the lantern being in plan.

1 denotes the signal-box, back of Which is a lantern 2, provided with an opening 3, covered, preferably, with a white glass. The box is provided with an opening 4, also covered, preferably, with a white glass, the opening in the box registering with the openingin thelantern. Uponthetopoftheboxisplacedadisk, preferably painted white. Within the box is pivoted an arm 6,having at oneend a red disk 7, adapted to register with disk 5, and at the other end a disk 8, of red glass, adapted to register with opening 4in the front of the box. 9 denotes a cord extending from arm 6 and passing over a pulley 10 within the box and over one or more pulleys 11, the opposite end of said cord being attached to an arm 12, extending from a shaft 13, the opposite end of said shaft beare changed again.

Serin No. 424,868. (No modem ing provided with an operating-arm 14. In Fig. 1 I have shown the front of the signalbox as provided with an extension 15, which 'incloses shaft 13, the signal-box and lantern in this form being mounted on a pole 16. In the other form the parts not within the signal-box are inclosed in a suitable housing 17, the shape and arrangement of which are of course varied in each instance to suit the requirements of the location. p extending from arm 6 over one or more pulleys 19, the other end of said cord being connected with an arm 2O'7 extending from a shaft 21, having at its other end an operating-arm 22. The operation of arms 14 and 22 will be clearly understood from Fig. 3, both of said arms being shown in full and in dotted position, one arm being raised when the other is pressed down. It is of course well understood that in handling trains a white signal, either a disk or a light, ordinarily means safety, anda red signal, either a disk or a light, means danger. When a train approaches a block or station, supposing that no other train is on the block and the track clear, the parts will be in the position shown in full lines in the drawings-th atis to say,white disk 5 willbe exposed, and likewise the white glass of the lantern, Which is, of course, kept lighted after dark. When a train enters a block or station, some portion of the train-for instance, the tread of a locomotive-wheel, as in Figs.2 and 3, or a projection 23, extending from the cab of the locomotive, as in Fig. l-engages operatingarm 14 and turns it from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown in dotted lines, the action of which is to swing arm 6 from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in said figure, so that white disk 5 is covered by the red disk 7 on arm 6 and the white glass of the lantern is covered by the red glass on 18 denotes a cord the arm. This means danger and Will warn thetrain-hands of an approaching train not to enter the block or station until the signals In addition to operating arm 6 and changing the signals the entrance of the train into a block or station will also by means of cord 18 operate arm 22 and swing it from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown in dotted lines in said iigure. When the train leaves the block or station, operating-arm 22 is engaged by the tread of the front locomotive-wheel or by projection 23, extending from the cab,'as may be, and is pressed down from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown in full lines in said figure, the action of which is to again oscillate arm 6, moving red disk 7 away from disk 5 and the red glass 8 away from the White glass of the lantern-z'. e., from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to the position shown in full lines in said figure, thus leaving White signals exposed and also raising arm 14 from the position shown in dotted lines in Figi to the'position shown in full lines in said figure, so that the signal will be operated again 'by the neXt train, the operation in changing the signal beingwholly automatic each time a train enters or leaves the block or station. Shown both operating-arms and illustrated their operation clearly in Fig. 3. In Fig. 1 one operating-arm only is shown. As the operation in this form is precisely the same as in the other form, it is not deemed necessary to illustrate both ot' the operating-arms.

It will of course be understood that the details of construction may be varied to an almost unlimited extent Without departing from the principles of my invention, it being Wholly I haveimmaterial, forexample, what colors of disks and glasses are used.

Other colors may be used in lieu of red and white, if preferred. I have described the disks and glasses as red and white for the reason that these are the colors ordinarily used to indicate safety and danger upon railroads.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- An automatic block-signal comprising a signal-lamp showing a White light, a stationary white disk arranged vertically above said light, an arm pivoted between said light and disk and'carryi'ng at one end a red glass and at the other a red disk, said glass and disk being arranged to stand infront of the white light and disk when the arm is turned to a vertical position,a housing incasing the-light and arm, but having a slotted top to permit the red disk to rise into-danger position, and y Witnesses:

JOHN GRAY, EUGENE 0. DEMPsEY. 

